Business and Economics

Despite not seeming keen to cut VAT as per the Leave campaign promise, he took the opportunity to say this week that leaving the EU means the UK can now set its own VAT rates.

“This is what taking back control of our borders means", Philip Rycroft said.

“You could interpret this as the UK having less reach in future," a finance expert has said.

To the dismay of households and businesses, energy tariffs spiked while steep hikes in the cost of oil also saw fuel prices shoot up.

New post-Brexit rules due to come into force from January 1 could also cause delays to shipments as the amount of paperwork required increases.

"We can post to anywhere in Europe with no customs," the Northern Irish bussinessman has said.

"No wonder the Aussie trade minister was so fulsome in his praise for Liz Truss. The Aussies can't believe their luck in negotiating the fastest trade deal in history," one person said.

“The government told us Brexit was done – but it’s barely even started. I know a lot of small businesses struggling to survive with all the red tape since Brexit.”

On Christmas Eve, the government announced it will extend the worker scheme which allows foreign seasonal workers to come to Britain for up to half a year to do horticulture jobs which have been left vacant.